Decision expected soon on Brian Haines' status as county manager

LAS CRUCES — After a five-month absence by County Manager Brian Haines because of medical problems, a decision is expected to be made soon about what's next for county government leadership.

At issue is that a 90-day extension of unpaid medical leave that was issued to Haines expired Tuesday, according to county officials. Haines has been county manager for about a decade.

Now, Haines, age 57, will either have to return to work, resign or retire; or the County Commission would have to part ways with him via a medical separation, said interim County Manager Sue Padilla.

As for the specific course of action?

"I can't discuss it at this point in time," Padilla said. "There will be a point in time, probably in the very near future, that decision will be made."

County Commission Chairwoman Karen Perez said she's been out of town at a conference for a few days and hadn't heard yet whether Haines had sent any correspondence regarding his decision. Perez noted she's not spoken to Haines in about two months.

"We sent a letter to him, and I'm assuming we're going to wait a reasonable amount of time for him to respond," she said. "I'd hope he'd notify us before the meeting on Tuesday," referring to a regular commission meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

An official with knowledge of the situation indicated it's unlikely Haines will return to the job.

Asked about whether leadership will be in flux indefinitely, County Commissioner David Garcia said he's "pretty sure that time will come" for the commission to make its decision.

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But there are some human resources processes that need to wrap up with Haines. For now, Padilla will remain at the helm, he said.

"She's acting as county manager," Garcia said. "He hasn't exited out, and I'm sure at some point soon he will."

The five-member Doña Ana County Board of Commissioners is in charge of hiring, firing and other personnel decisions related to the county manager position.

Haines notified the County Commission on Sept. 7 of last year that he was going on long-term medical leave. County officials said they were prevented from talking about his medical condition because of federal privacy rules. A few days later, Padilla was named by the County Commission as interim. Her contract lasts through March 31, 2014 — or until the return of Haines, according to a county news release.

County Commissioner Wayne Hancock said Haines stays county manager "until he does something else."

"I, like the rest of the county, am looking for a resolution of the situation," he said.

At first, Haines was on a 12-week unpaid medically related leave of absence that's mandated by the federal government. But after that, Padilla said, he was granted a 90-day extension of unpaid leave by the commission. That's what expired this week.

A Las Cruces native, Haines was first hired at the county in May 2001 as a temporary employee doing audit analysis, according to a county news release from that year. After a stint as finance director, the County Commission hired Haines in 2003 as county manager.

Perez said she's worked with Haines for about six years, ever since she started as a county commissioner. So, she and other commissioners are contemplating not only the business side of their relationship with Haines, but also his well-being from a personal side.

"We care a lot about him," she said.

Should Haines opt not to return, the County Commission could decide to extend Padilla's contract beyond March 2014. Or it could launch a hiring search for a new county manager, who'd step in after Padilla's contract was up.

Padilla said she thinks the latter would happen. In the event it does, she'd be interested in applying as a candidate, she said. If she got an offer, she'd stay on at the county.

But if not, "I'd probably consider retirement," she said. "I enjoy working and doing what I'm doing. I'd like to continue to contribute to the county."

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